ken mc: No, you were right the first time. The 1920s picture is of the Burbank Theatre on Main Street downtown, with its original, late 19th century facade still exposed. The front was covered up with the streamline-deco facade sometime in the 1930s or 1940s.
ken mc: If you want to post a link that has a bare URL as long as this one, I’d suggest using the tinyurl redirection service to shrink it. That way it won’t make the page too wide.
Alternately, you can eclose the URL in UBB code, in which the URL will vanish from the page, and your link will show as a name, as in the links I’ve made in this comment.
Although I have been unable to discover the address of the Gardella Theatre, there is at least one picture of it at the Cal State Chico web site: Gardella Theatre, ca1920s.
There is a possible hint of the theatre’s location in this picture of Oroville’s Myers Street in 1947. In the foreground is the State Theatre, but at the distant end of the street, four blocks away, can be seen a building closing the street with a roof-line very like that of the Gardella Theatre. If this was the theatre’s location, it was right next to the levee along the Feather River.
There is also a blade sign about halfway down Myers Street, on the left, which reads “Ritz.” This may have been another theatre, but I have never come across any written reference to it, or any other pictures that would give a better view.
I’ve never seen that shot before, but I remember seeing Broadway that bright, with all the signs lit up and lots of traffic, and pedestrians (who I’m sure would show in this picture had they not been made ghosts by the time lapse photograph.) It still looked like that by night into the mid-1960s (though this picture appears to be from the early 1950s.) One thing seems odd, though. Didn’t the Globe have a blade sign? It ought to be there on the left, in between the signs of the Lankershim Hotel and the Newsreel Theatre. But maybe I’ve misremembered, and the Globe had only its marquee.
This picture from the USC digital archive, Seventh Street looking west from Broadway, is labeled 1921, but must have been slightly earlier, as demolition of the buildings at the southwest corner, where Loew’s State Theatre was to be built that year, had not yet begun.
Beyond those doomed buildings, just right of center in the picture, can be seen the front of the Palace Theatre on Seventh Street, adjacent to the alley. Also of interest, the roof of a building on Seventh just beyond Hill Street has on its roof a large sign advertising the Alhambra Theatre, on Hill Street south of Seventh.
A bit to the left that sign can be seen the back wall of another theatre, which must have been located on the east side of Grand Avenue. Although the sign painted on its fly tower reads either “Strand Theatre” or (more likely) “Grand Theatre.” It is likely that this is the theatre originally called the Mozart, which opened in 1913 at 730 South Grand Avenue.
As Manwithnoname said in the first comment above (almost three years ago) the correct name of this ten screen multiplex is Edwards Atlantic Palace 10 (not that anything operated by Regal deserves to be given its correct name, or even mentioned at all.)
The original Alhambra Theatre is posted at Cinema Treasures under its final name, the Alhambra Twin Cinemas.
Selecting the keywords “Senator Theatre” from the list at this page will fetch 42 pictures of the Senator Theatre from the historic photograph collection at the Meriam Library of California State University, Chico.
ken mc: Redding has long been a good-sized town, usually rivalling Chico in size. Chico has supported at least two theatres at any given time since the 1920s, often three, and may have had as many as five operating at one time, so it isn’t surprising that Redding could support two large downtown theatres.
My first visit to Redding was about 1970, and by that time, many of the old buildings along California Street had been demolished to make way for parking lots serving the downtown businesses along Market Street, one block east. I think the Redding Theatre must have been among those demolished, as I have no recollection of it being there at that time.
The building is interesting. The style, with its Roman arched windows, looks to be late 19th century. This was probably Redding’s first big theatre. I’d bet they called it an opera house when it opened.
Bryan: The only picture of the Pismo Theatre I can find in the web is this tiny one at Cinematour, but the building certainly looks as though it would have been there in 1945. I only ever went through downtown Pismo Beach once, in the late 1960s, and the theatre was called the Pismo then, but it was a very small town, and there were many theatres in nearby cities such as San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, so I doubt that Pismo Beach would ever have supported two movie houses. Also, scottfavareille makes reference to art deco details in the auditorium, which suggests a 1920s or 1930s origin for the building, so it seems likely that the Pismo and the Ward’s were the same theatre.
This theatre apparently hosted a number of live music performances. I’ve come across web references to a Grateful Dead concert there as early as 1976. There is also a listing of an appearance by Blue Oyster Cult at the Central Coast Theatre in 1988. The most recent reference I can find is on the site of a local band called 10 High, which performed there (though they called it the Pismo Theatre— maybe the name reverted to the original before the theatre closed) in 1994.
I’ve also found a reference to the Pismo Theatre in a Rocky Horror usenet group (no date mentioned), so it must have been the local venue for that cult movie.
Opened as Loew’s Theatre, New Years Eve, 1917. The architect was Thomas W. Lamb. Although the auditorium was demolished, the lobby was not, and now houses a restaurant.
The Los Angeles is one of the few downtown theatres which has two balconies. I only saw the second balcony opened once, when the theatre was four-walled for an exploitation movie called “Poor White Trash” in about 1963.
That is the Sierra Theatre in Susanville, California. This picture from the U.C. Davis collection gives the location. Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, and is about 90 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. The Sierra Theatre may still be open, but it is not yet listed n Cinema Treasures.
Oroville State Theatre. It’s still standing, and it’s been largely restored (I don’t think they’ve finished restoring the balcony yet.) I’ve actually never been to the Oroville State, even though it’s only about twenty miles from where I live.
ken mc: What you have there is an aerial view of the El Monte Drive-In on Lower Azusa Road. The Cinema Treasures entry on the El Monte Drive-In mistakenly attributes the design to William Glenn Balch. W.G. Balch and his father, Clifford Balch did design the Starlite Drive-In in South El Monte, but both the Tumbleweed and the El Monte Drive-In were designed by S. Charles Lee.
ken mc: I’m wondering if maybe this isn’t the El Rey Theatre (opened as the Majestic in 1905) in Chico, California. It was called the American from 1939 to 1946, and the street looks very much like Chico’s 2nd Street. The building is the right shape, too. I see another theatre is across the street, and on its side wall is painted a sign with “CHIC…” visible. I’ve never heard of an Empire Theatre existing in Chico, but it’s a definite possibility.
OK, I’ve just found the small early picture of the Majestic/El Rey at the top of this page, and the building next door to the theatre in that picture appears to be the same one that appears in the picture you’ve found. Now I’m convinced. That’s the El Rey, probably some time about 1939-1940.
Here are three vintage pictures from the Tulare County Library:
The beginning of construction on the Fox
The Fox under construction
The Fox after opening
ken mc: No, you were right the first time. The 1920s picture is of the Burbank Theatre on Main Street downtown, with its original, late 19th century facade still exposed. The front was covered up with the streamline-deco facade sometime in the 1930s or 1940s.
ken mc: If you want to post a link that has a bare URL as long as this one, I’d suggest using the tinyurl redirection service to shrink it. That way it won’t make the page too wide.
Alternately, you can eclose the URL in UBB code, in which the URL will vanish from the page, and your link will show as a name, as in the links I’ve made in this comment.
This is how your picture link would look in UBB code: Jewel Theatre, Tujunga, 1925.
This is not the only reverse theatre in the country. Interestingly, there’s another one in the original Pasadena, as well: Pasadena, California.
Although I have been unable to discover the address of the Gardella Theatre, there is at least one picture of it at the Cal State Chico web site: Gardella Theatre, ca1920s.
There is a possible hint of the theatre’s location in this picture of Oroville’s Myers Street in 1947. In the foreground is the State Theatre, but at the distant end of the street, four blocks away, can be seen a building closing the street with a roof-line very like that of the Gardella Theatre. If this was the theatre’s location, it was right next to the levee along the Feather River.
There is also a blade sign about halfway down Myers Street, on the left, which reads “Ritz.” This may have been another theatre, but I have never come across any written reference to it, or any other pictures that would give a better view.
This is the foyer of the Oro Theatre, ca1910, and a wider view, about the same time.
I’ve never seen that shot before, but I remember seeing Broadway that bright, with all the signs lit up and lots of traffic, and pedestrians (who I’m sure would show in this picture had they not been made ghosts by the time lapse photograph.) It still looked like that by night into the mid-1960s (though this picture appears to be from the early 1950s.) One thing seems odd, though. Didn’t the Globe have a blade sign? It ought to be there on the left, in between the signs of the Lankershim Hotel and the Newsreel Theatre. But maybe I’ve misremembered, and the Globe had only its marquee.
The earliest references to the Sierra Theatre that I can find are pictures taken by J.H. Eastman in 1937, such as this one.
The Mozart opened on August 14th, 1913. There is some evidence that it was still operating, under the name Grand Playhouse, in the late 1940s.
This picture from the USC digital archive, Seventh Street looking west from Broadway, is labeled 1921, but must have been slightly earlier, as demolition of the buildings at the southwest corner, where Loew’s State Theatre was to be built that year, had not yet begun.
Beyond those doomed buildings, just right of center in the picture, can be seen the front of the Palace Theatre on Seventh Street, adjacent to the alley. Also of interest, the roof of a building on Seventh just beyond Hill Street has on its roof a large sign advertising the Alhambra Theatre, on Hill Street south of Seventh.
A bit to the left that sign can be seen the back wall of another theatre, which must have been located on the east side of Grand Avenue. Although the sign painted on its fly tower reads either “Strand Theatre” or (more likely) “Grand Theatre.” It is likely that this is the theatre originally called the Mozart, which opened in 1913 at 730 South Grand Avenue.
As Manwithnoname said in the first comment above (almost three years ago) the correct name of this ten screen multiplex is Edwards Atlantic Palace 10 (not that anything operated by Regal deserves to be given its correct name, or even mentioned at all.)
The original Alhambra Theatre is posted at Cinema Treasures under its final name, the Alhambra Twin Cinemas.
Selecting the keywords “Senator Theatre” from the list at this page will fetch 42 pictures of the Senator Theatre from the historic photograph collection at the Meriam Library of California State University, Chico.
ken mc: Redding has long been a good-sized town, usually rivalling Chico in size. Chico has supported at least two theatres at any given time since the 1920s, often three, and may have had as many as five operating at one time, so it isn’t surprising that Redding could support two large downtown theatres.
My first visit to Redding was about 1970, and by that time, many of the old buildings along California Street had been demolished to make way for parking lots serving the downtown businesses along Market Street, one block east. I think the Redding Theatre must have been among those demolished, as I have no recollection of it being there at that time.
The building is interesting. The style, with its Roman arched windows, looks to be late 19th century. This was probably Redding’s first big theatre. I’d bet they called it an opera house when it opened.
Bryan: The only picture of the Pismo Theatre I can find in the web is this tiny one at Cinematour, but the building certainly looks as though it would have been there in 1945. I only ever went through downtown Pismo Beach once, in the late 1960s, and the theatre was called the Pismo then, but it was a very small town, and there were many theatres in nearby cities such as San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, so I doubt that Pismo Beach would ever have supported two movie houses. Also, scottfavareille makes reference to art deco details in the auditorium, which suggests a 1920s or 1930s origin for the building, so it seems likely that the Pismo and the Ward’s were the same theatre.
This theatre apparently hosted a number of live music performances. I’ve come across web references to a Grateful Dead concert there as early as 1976. There is also a listing of an appearance by Blue Oyster Cult at the Central Coast Theatre in 1988. The most recent reference I can find is on the site of a local band called 10 High, which performed there (though they called it the Pismo Theatre— maybe the name reverted to the original before the theatre closed) in 1994.
I’ve also found a reference to the Pismo Theatre in a Rocky Horror usenet group (no date mentioned), so it must have been the local venue for that cult movie.
The City of Kingston’s web site displays plans for the future of the Grand Theatre.
This entry needs to be updated:
Opened as Loew’s Theatre, New Years Eve, 1917. The architect was Thomas W. Lamb. Although the auditorium was demolished, the lobby was not, and now houses a restaurant.
The current appearance of the United Artists Pasadena can be seen in this picture.
The Los Angeles is one of the few downtown theatres which has two balconies. I only saw the second balcony opened once, when the theatre was four-walled for an exploitation movie called “Poor White Trash” in about 1963.
That is the Sierra Theatre in Susanville, California. This picture from the U.C. Davis collection gives the location. Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, and is about 90 miles northwest of Reno, Nevada. The Sierra Theatre may still be open, but it is not yet listed n Cinema Treasures.
Oroville State Theatre. It’s still standing, and it’s been largely restored (I don’t think they’ve finished restoring the balcony yet.) I’ve actually never been to the Oroville State, even though it’s only about twenty miles from where I live.
TexasEscapes has a few small pictures and a brief essay about Electra’s Grand Theatre.
ken mc:
There was the Fox Cinemaland on Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim, but the entry here says it was demolished.
ken mc: What you have there is an aerial view of the El Monte Drive-In on Lower Azusa Road. The Cinema Treasures entry on the El Monte Drive-In mistakenly attributes the design to William Glenn Balch. W.G. Balch and his father, Clifford Balch did design the Starlite Drive-In in South El Monte, but both the Tumbleweed and the El Monte Drive-In were designed by S. Charles Lee.
ken mc: I’m wondering if maybe this isn’t the El Rey Theatre (opened as the Majestic in 1905) in Chico, California. It was called the American from 1939 to 1946, and the street looks very much like Chico’s 2nd Street. The building is the right shape, too. I see another theatre is across the street, and on its side wall is painted a sign with “CHIC…” visible. I’ve never heard of an Empire Theatre existing in Chico, but it’s a definite possibility.
OK, I’ve just found the small early picture of the Majestic/El Rey at the top of this page, and the building next door to the theatre in that picture appears to be the same one that appears in the picture you’ve found. Now I’m convinced. That’s the El Rey, probably some time about 1939-1940.